Richard Bernstein
The East, the West, and Sex: A History of Erotic Encounters
New York: Knopf, 2009
It’s no secret that Asian women and white men seem to have a good deal of mutual attraction. Richard Bernstein, a Jew married to an Asian woman, tries to put this into a historical context. Reading his book gives an idea of how unique Western ideas of sex and marriage truly have been. Read more …


































































The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009) is the second novel/movie in the dismayingly popular Millennium Trilogy by the late Swedish communist and feminist Stieg Larsson. It is the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which was recently remade in English directed by David Fincher. Assuming that Hollywood will remake all three Swedish films, we might as well get a sneak preview by taking a look at the Swedish sequels. Read more …